3.1 dies

[Phat Pat]

yesterday I was sitting at a stoplight and my grand prix (1990) died, never done that before, I pulled into a parking lot (where I was going) and the temp was super high. later pulled out and heard the thermostat click on, temp dropped to normal.

 

looked at it today after replacing the thermostat, and the rpms go up and down a few times until it just dies.

 

anyone have any ideas?

[DaveFromColorado]

sounds like ya popped a headgasket.

 

--Dave

[Phat Pat]

wouldnt it be leaking oil, or coolant like crazy then?

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

check the dipstick for the oil being milky or the level being too high

[DaveFromColorado]

unless it's tossing coolant into one of the cylinders, you can have an internal head gasket leak and not know it.

 

--Dave.

[skiiirt]

:withstupid:

 

Been there done that..

[Phat Pat]

oil looks fine at the dipstick.

 

I should note that it only does this up and down RPMs and die after idleing for 5 minutes or so, then stops when it warms up.

 

If it's the head gasket its going to have to go to the junk yard, I've already put into it more than its worth. Plus im going to college in a year and wont have a need for a car. the only thing that would make it worth keeping is an engine swap, and I have no time, money, or workspace for that, not to mention I doubt I could handle the wiring tasks.

 

if it is I will just drive my sister's tempo for the rest of the year.

[DaveFromColorado]

if it's a head gasket, and you're gonna junk the car, lemme know how much the yard will give ya for it, because I may be interested in an other 3.1 car, as I've got an extra 3100 sittin' in my garage right now.

 

--Dave.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Sounds like you might need a tuneup. My 1988 ran like garbage then I cleaned the IAC/Throttlebody (really dirty), changed the t-stat, flushed the rad, and it ran MUCH better after that. I don't know why everyone it pointing at headgasket right away

[DaveFromColorado]

it overheated really baddly, and now it runs like crap at startup.

 

checking the head gaskets would be the first thing I'd do.

 

--Dave.

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

i guess it could also be the intake gasket...which is a lot cheaper

[Phat Pat]

it overheated really baddly, and now it runs like crap at startup.

 

checking the head gaskets would be the first thing I'd do.

 

--Dave.

 

it didnt overheat really badly, just more than it should have been, not near the red.

[White93z34]

ha thats the norm on these cars! mine will go almost to the red then the thermostat will open and the fans will kick on and bring it back down. i'd say your in need of a tuneup.

[94CutlassSLCoupe]

my car gets almost near the last white line (its a cutlass with the 92-94 analog cluster) before the t-stat opens. If it doesn't start spewing smoke from under the hood you are just fine.

[DaveFromColorado]

yeah, that's what they normally do.

 

I figured if you were talkin' about how it heated up, and you pulled over that it had gone beyond it's normal point. That's all.

 

now if it had overheated that baddly, then yes, you probably would need a head-gasket, but for now, I'd say tune it all up.

 

--Dave

[Regal_GS_1989]

If you overheated it really bad, you probably cracked the head(s) I have an 89 regal that overheated in traffic, and cracked both the heads in the little space between the two valves. They're not that hard to fix yourself if you've got a garage, and patience. It cost me 350$ to replace the heads and head gaskets on my 3.1.

[Regal_GS_1989]

If you overheated it really bad, you probably cracked the head(s) I have an 89 regal that overheated in traffic, and cracked both the heads in the little space between the two valves. They're not that hard to fix yourself if you've got a garage, and patience. It cost me 350$ to replace the heads and head gaskets on my 3.1.